Telling a robot howto behaveSanjeev AroraCOS 116: 2/7/2008Survey results Class break-down Freshmen: 10 Sophomore: 10 Juniors: 10 Seniors: 4 Majors 6 ECO 1 ORFE 6 POL 1 ELE 3 ENG 6 Undecided 3 East Asian St. 2 MAT 2 Classics 1 WWS 1 SOC 1 Comp. Litt. 1 HIST Own a: PC: 25 Mac: 11 Game console: 17 Palm: 1 iPod: 27 Have a web page:Yes:4 No: 30 Ever posted on blog: Yes: 15; No: 19 Programming: Yes:8 ; No: 26 College: 9 Forbes 4 Mathey 2 Butler 7 Wilson 5 Rocky- 7 WhitmanToday: Understanding a simple robotWhy?• Larger goal: work towards an answer to“What is Computation?”• Acquire insight into technology that will become pervasive within the next decade.•First encounter with many themes of this courseRobots in cultureReal robotsDiscussion TimeHow do you think the Mars Rover works?What are the design principles?Definition of “Robot”: A machine that can be programmed tointeract with the physical environment in adesired way. Key word: programmed As opposed to cars, televisions, lawnmowers,which are operated by peopleComponents of a robot1. Sensors/Inputs: light, sound, motion...2. Computing Hardware(programmable)3. Outputs/Actions: motors, lights, speakers…Our robot: ScribblerLight outputsSpeakerLight sensorsObstacle sensor detectorObstacle sensor emitterStall sensorLine sensor (underneath)Motor/wheelsInputs OutputsbuttonScribbler inside(In a few weeks:How Silicon chips andmicroprocessors work)How to control a machine’s behavior Fact of life in computing: hardware is “dumb” Forces us to make nebulous concepts precise What is an obstacle? Music?Another running theme: What is machine “intelligence”? Are there any limits on machine intelligence?Running theme in this courseControlling Scribbler’s behavior Scribbler Control Panel(uses “pseudocode”)Let’s play with itAlways remember…(esp. for Scribbler labs): Microprocessor can do one thing at a time Very fast -- 20 million operations per second!(desktop PCs do a few billion ops) Sequence of instructions within { … } form a“compound instruction”Why programmable? Benefits of a programmable device: Flexible Multi-use Universal Main difference between computers andother technologiesExample 1: As a burglar alarmIf beam interrupted…Beep!Example 2: As an artisteInteresting note: Scribbler is less smartthan is apparent from Control PanelGOTO MainSenseObs: FREQOUT ObsTxLeft, 1, 38500 IF (ObsRx = 0) THEN object_left = 1 ELSEobject_left = 0 LOW ObsTxLeft FREQOUT ObsTxRight, 1, 38500 IF (ObsRx = 0) THEN object_right = 1 ELSEobject_right = 0 LOW ObsTxRight RETURNSenseLine: HIGH LineEnable line_right = LineRight line_left = LineLeft LOW LineEnableDo forever{ Move Forward for 1s Move back for 1s}END=3 pages of instructions formicroprocessor“Translator” written by Rajesh Poddar ‘08Where are things going? “Small cleaning agents” – BrooksRoomba, the first fully-programmableconsumer deviceExample: Roomba + bluetoothadapter + software download= a vacuum cleaner controlledby your Wii remote (or iPhone)Where are things going?Boss; winner of $2M DARPA Urban Challenge 2007. Completed urban driving course in 4 hourswith no accidents at avg speed of 14mphPrinceton entry; semifinalistWhich of you will be willing toride in a robocar?The Future? Automated highwaysBeing actively researched(From Minority Report)Why multi-purpose robots haveproved so hard to build•Need precise instruments akin to human (even animal) eyes,ears, limbs, hands/fingers. Formidable engineering problem!• Need smart ways of using these information from sensors (Example: Human vision versus high-resolution video camera)Reminder: Reading for this week;p 3-31 from Brooks.Another running themein this course: “Algorithms”What is going inside us? “Da Vinci” Roboticsurgery system More precise,though often stillcontrolled by
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